Butterfly mobile toy



1951 A. M. STEINER ETAL 2994,15

BUTTERFLY MOBILE TOY Original Filed Dec. 3, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 1, 1961 A. M. STEINER EFAL 2,994,156

BUTTERFLY MOBILE TOY Original Filed Dec. 3, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 Claim. (Cl. 46-124) This application is a division of our application, Serial No. 472,832, filed December 3, 1954, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to toys or playthings for infants and very small children and it concerns a mobile device which is adapted to be suspended from the crib or bed of the child, from the edge of a playpen or from some other article of furniture in a position just beyond the childs reach. The invention contemplates the attachment to the device of a plurality of toy butterflies and it is particularly concerned with the construction of a toy butterfly adapted for use in conjunction with the device.

One of the particular objects of the invention has been to provide an infants mobile toy of simple but durable construction and one which cannot possibly harm the child.

Another object has been to provide a mobile toy construction which can be assembled by the manufacturer with a minimum of labor and expense.

Another object has been to provide for use in conjunction with the mobile device a toy butterfly which is particularly adapted to rapid assembly and safe use.

Another object has been to provide an attachment means for the device which permits a substantial latitude as to its exact location and positioning.

Other and further objects and advantages will be apparent from the further and more detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a fully assembled device atfixed to a support, in position for use.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a single toy butterfly taken along the line 22 FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of one of the spars utilized in the device taken along the line 3-3 FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view along the line 4--4 FIGURE 3.

Referring again to the drawings for a further and more detailed description of the invention, the device designated generally as 10, comprises a standard 11 preferably formed from a length of bent wire. A channel-shaped attachment bracket 12 is secured to one end of the standard 11 at the point 13 by welding, solder or the like. The attachment screw 14 is inserted through the outer arm of the bracket 12 and when advanced forces the spacer plate 15 into contact with the abutment 16. The spacer plate 15 is threaded on the upper arm of the bracket 12 and on the shank of the screw. This arrangement permits the device to be secured very tightly to abutments of various widths, including those which are substantially narrower than the width of the bracket.

The upper horizontal portion 17 of the bracket 12 has a hook 18 formed at its terminal end and from this hook there may be suspended a plurality of spars which in the preferred embodiment shown have been designated respectively as 19, 20 and 21. Each of these spars is suspended either from the hook 18 or from a higher spar by string sections designated respectively 22, 23 and 24. As will subsequently be pointed out, the complete suspension of the three spars and the five butterflies shown in FIGURE 1 is accomplished through the use of but three string sections and this construction forms an important feature of the invention since the labor consumed in assembling the parts is thereby minimized.

The butterflies themselves have been designated respectively as 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. While the construction is identical in each case the positioning of the individual butterflies with respect to the string sections and spars requires individual identification.

As best illustrated in FIGUR'ES 3 and 4 spar 19, the construction of which is representative of all of the spars, has apertures 30 formed transversely through an upper rib section 31 and vertically through the spar itself. The ends of the spar have flattened tips 32 through which openings 33 are formed vertically. The transverse and vertical apertures 30, the flattened tips 32 and openings 33 in the tips of spar 19 and similar elements in the other spars all contribute to the threading of the string. To illustrate, the string 22 is first secured at its upper end to the book 18. It is then threaded through the transverse opening 34 in the spar 21 and wound or knotted around the spar to provide a degree of securance. Next, the free end is inserted through the vertical aperture to the under side of the spar and extended to the end 35 of the spar 21 where it is again wound or knotted and passed downward through the opening 36. It is then secured through the aperture 30 in the spar 19, around the end 32 of this spar and again downwardly through the opening 33 where its end is secured to the butterfly 29 in a manner which will be subsequently described. Similiarly the string 23 has one end secured to the butterfly 25, the free end passed upward and through the opening 37 in the spar 21, outwardly to and around the end 38 and downwardly through the aperture 40 to the butterfly 26. The string 24 is secured at a central point to the spar end 41. The two ends are then passed downwardly to the opening 42, outwardly to the ends 43 and 44 and downwardly through apertures 45 and 46 where they are secured to the butterflies 27 and 28.

A preferred embodiment of one of the butterflies utilized in connection with the device is illustrated in FIG- URE 2. As shown there are essentially three elements, a body portion 47 which includes the head antennae and thorax, a separable back portion 48 and a unitary wing section 50. The body and back portions are preferably formed from hard rubber, plastic or the like, while the wing is preferably formed from thin transparent plastic. Preferably, the wing has imprinted on it a color design resembling a real butterfly and this design may be varied as to form and color in each case. The wing is preferably bent upward at its side edges to provide a realistic fluttering efiect.

The body portion 47 has a flat upper surface 51 which is recessed below the upper edge. A plurality of blind holes 52 extend into the body from the flat surface 51 and are adapted to receive studs 53 which are formed integrally with the back portion. The wing has central openings 54 corresponding in contour and positioning to the holes 52 so that when the Wing openings are aligned with the body openings the insertion of the studs serves to secure the three members together. When so secured approximately one half of the unitary wing section will be on each side of the body. It is contemplated that there will be a tight fit of the studs 53 in the holes 52 so that a small child will be unable to separate the parts.

A small opening 55 is formed vertically through the back portion 48- at a central point and a recess 56 is provided directly beneath this hole. The thread 22 is inserted through the hole 55 into the recess and a knot 57 is formed on the end thereof thereby securing the butterfly to the thread but leaving it free to twist in various directions upon activation by air currents.

It is believed that the operation of the device will be apparent from the description. As in other mobiles, the spars and butterflies are so mounted and suspended that Patented Aug. 1, 1961 there is an exact equalization of Weight which maintains the spars in generally horizontal position with respect to the floor. At the same time the spars are so mounted that they will readily twist in any direction and the butterflies not only twist but tend to flutter forward and back in a realistic manner. The overall effect of the movement and color is very pleasing to infants and small children. Because of the particularly sturdy construction there are no loose parts which the child can grasp even if his hand should come in contact with the device.

Obviously, various changes and modifications may be made in the preferred construction of the invention without departing from the general principles as herein illustrated and described.

Having fully described our invention, we claim:

A toy butterfly adapted to be suspended from a mobile standard comprising, a main body portion of molded plastic material configurated to simulate the body, head, antennae and thorax of a butterfly, a unitary wing section including two wings configurated to simulate the wings of a butterfly joined by a small, flat rectangular connector portion, said body portion having a recessed area in the back thereof configurated to receive said connector portion, a back portion configurated to simulate the back of a butterfly, said body portion having a pair of sockets therein, the connector portion of the wing section having two openings therein conforming to said sockets, said back portion having a pair of studs of a size to fit through the openings in the connector portion and tightly engage into the sockets within the recess of the body portion, whereby the studs on the back portion extend through the openings in the connector portion and are tightly received in the sockets to securely fasten the wing section to the main body portion, an indentation in said back portion between said studs, and a small opening through the back portion, the last named opening and the indentation cooperating to receive a knotted thread for suspending the toy butterfly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,077,1 00 Sheline Oct. 28, 1913 1,726,626 Miller Sept. 3, 1929 1,985,656 Goodspeed Dec. 25, 1934 2,538,522 Jackle Ian. 16, 1951 

